The present invention relates to a positional transducer, otherwise known as a joystick, which can be used for a variety of applications including video amusement games, positioning of a cursor on a graphic display, operation of a robot in a remote location, operation of construction equipment in an adverse environment, or in general, the electronic control of any device along orthogonal coordinates.
Traditional control of movement along orthogonal coordinates relied upon four separate controls which functioned to control motion in the +X, -X, +Y and -Y directions. However, with the use of a single control, positional movement can be obtained quicker and easier than by using four distinct controls. A single control allows for angular movement in the plane of the orthogonal coordinates rather than just movement only along the X axis or Y axis. Positional transducers are well-known in the prior art and are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,726, U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,392, U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,631 and IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Volume 23, No. 8 of January, 1981.
With positional transducers being used more frequently for everything from video games to cursor controls on video displays and the remote operation of robots and construction equipment, it is advantageous to have a simple, inexpensive, reliable and accurate positional transducer with as few moving parts as possible so that the accurate control of equipment will not degrade over time due to wear or adverse operating conditions. Since they rely upon mechanical connections to effect electrical contact, the positional transducers shown in the prior art, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,631, U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,726 and IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Volume 23, No. 8 of January, 1981 are sensitive to dirt and their effective use will degrade over long term use in adverse environments, such as outdoors at construction sites.
It is an object of this invention to overcome these problems and disadvantages in the prior art. In particular, it is a general object of this invention to provide an improved positional transducer.
It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a sensitive, highly reliable positional transducer that does not rely upon mechanical connections to effect electrical contact.
It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a positional transducer that can be used in hostile environments without any degradation in performance over time.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a positional transducer whereby control is provided by permanent magnets which are selectively positional around permanently fixed ferrite tube inductors.